This workshop is designed for crime writers of all levels working on all sub-genres. It’s suitable if you:

• Would like to make the characters and dialogue in your writing more authentic
• Want to know more about police procedure, behaviour and jargon
• Would like insight from insider professionals
• Like experimenting with writing prompts and learning new techniques
• Enjoy the discipline of deadlines and peer feedback
• Want to join a friendly and supportive group of up to 30 learners
• Can dedicate 10am-4pm (UK time) to participate in the live workshop, or are happy to watch back the recordings afterwards.

This workshop allows you to:

• Understand how the police communicate and work together
• Become familiar with who’s who at the police station, its different settings, and how the various roles interact 
• Master the jargon and acronyms 
• Get to know the standards and discipline expected of officers
• Learn what’s realistic in terms of conversations and humour
• Write more accurate and effective dialogue 
• Develop the professional skills writers require (eg discipline, attention to detail, ability to work to deadlines)
• Practise giving effective feedback to other writers and receiving critical notes
• Build greater independence, autonomy and critical judgment as you work on a final assignment.

We start with a live day on Zoom, with morning and afternoon sessions. But many people choose to access the course by watching the playback after the event. At the end of the day, Graham sets you a writing task, to apply knowledge from the day to your own writing. You have all week to work on a piece from your novel in progress, or start something new, with access to all the content from the live session plus extra resources and a Q&A forum to ask Graham questions. We encourage you to workshop your piece with your peers. At the end of the week, Graham will offer written feedback on your work.

Our teaching method is based on the science of active learning: you read/listen/watch, try out, share and reflect. It’s a social experience – you become part of a small group, feeding back on each other’s writing to build a supportive bunch of readers you trust. Find out more here.

Day 1: Morning session on Zoom –

• 10am Introductions and icebreaker exercise
• 10.30am Graham introduces the day’s themes, with practical interactive exercises throughout
• Learn how the different roles and career paths develop
• Find out who’s there at the police station and who’s in charge
• Understand how the police communicate and work together
• Learn all about jargon, acronyms, as well as the standards and discipline 
• Discover what makes up the DNA of a police officer
• 12.45pm Forensics Q&A
• 1pm Lunch

Afternoon session on Zoom –

• 2pm Writing exercise brief and Q&A
• 2.15pm Writing time
• 3.15pm Q&A – turning fact into fiction
• 4pm Close.

At the end of the day, Graham sets you a longer writing task to apply what you’ve learned to your own work. You’ll have till the end of the week to work on this and workshop drafts in our online classroom alongside your peers, with access to all your course materials and extra resources plus a Q&A forum to ask Graham questions. We’ll upload recordings of the Zoom sessions for you to watch back.

At the end of the week, Graham will read your submission and give individual written feedback on your writing.

Join our alumni community 

After your course, you can join our online alumni community – a friendly group of writers supporting each other as they continue to explore and develop their writing. There’s no cost for this. It’s easy to access via the online classroom, where you can:

• Revisit all your course materials, including tutor notes, feedback, videos, podcasts and forum posts
• Rejoin your classmates, and continue working together in a private space
• Meet alumni from other courses to find beta-readers and share work on our critiquing forum
• Network with other writers working in your genre or area of interest
• Take part in regular ‘sit and write’ Zoom sessions, to push forward with your work-in progress
• Join our monthly live alumni events with our expert tutors and industry guests, including agents, editors, publishers, competition and festival organisers, and prizewinning writers

Feedback on your work

At the end of the course Graham will give feedback on the procedural aspect of your final submission. If you would like more detailed or ongoing feedback on your work or consultancy for an extra fee, please email [email protected] for details.